The Devil’s in my Baubles 2

Just a quick post, as I take a break from etching stuff (of which more later). Some more progress on the baubles:

drawings for baubles

These of course are a couple of new pictures prior to baubling – I reckon to re-draw each original design around five times, with a few colour variations where possible, so as to have enough variety and at the same time so as to not take absolutley forever on each bauble. The gold ones will, however, be a rarity. They were originally done for a good friend who is very, very particular about her Christmas tree decorations and indeed, her Christmas trees (and to date is the only person I have ever met who has taken back a Christmas tree, having already got it home, because it was not quite straight).

The gold is a time-consuming surface to create, requiring about three coats of gold acrylic, which is irritatingly translucent and does not make it gold enough, so that is followed by a liberal brushing of gold-coloured mica powder while the acrylic is not entirely dry, and hairspray, to stick everything down. After that, I can barely see my pencil outline through all that gold, and it is not the easiest surface to draw on either. Oh, and the tops of the baubles get the same treatment too, though without the drawing. But there are some people for whom I don’t mind pushing the boat out, especially when they are usually right: I have to admit, the baubles do look a lot more sumptuous than my original plan, so there will be a few spare gold ones for first-comers. Just not many!

The gold mica powder is in fact the goldest thing I have ever come across – apart from actual gold – if you are ever looking for something of the kind, it puts metallic paint to shame!